Discipline and Love

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

-Hebrews 12:11

Parenting is hard. It is hard, because it takes effort, perseverance, consistency, patience….

One thing I do not like about parenting is disciplining my son. I mean, the kid is so cute why in the world would I want to see him in trouble. Even though I do not like it, I realize that disciplining my son is a necessity.

I do not have any other choice, if I love my son, because the alternative is even worse. I do not want my son to grow up thinking it is okay to hit his parents. I would hate for him to go through life thinking it’s okay to be selfish. I want to teach him that talking nicely to people is a good attribute to have in life.

Mac averages 1.5 timeouts a day, because Em and I realize that the most loving thing we can do for Mac is to teach, train, instruct and discipline him when he acts out. We want Mac to know there are consequences for his bad mistakes, but we also want him to fully understand that no matter what he does Mama and Dada will always love him.

Here’s the reality: Your kids are going to need to be disciplined…probably today, maybe even right now. But I want you to make sure that you discipline your children in a way that reinforces your love for them.

DISCIPLINE is important.

LOVE is very important.

Children (and parents) need both.

Grace and peace, Marc